Mission:
The mission of the Agricultural Systems Research Unit (ASRU), Plains Area, Fort Collins, CO, is to enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems by: (1) Quantifying and enhancing scientific knowledge at the whole-system level and conducting collaborative research to fill knowledge gaps; (2) Developing and improving integrated computer models of agricultural systems and supporting their application to enhance and extend field research, and to the analysis of major issues--including, but not limited to: production, resource conservation, climate change, and precision farming; and (3) Providing farm-level computerized decision support technology packages to farmers, ranchers, agricultural consultants, and action agencies to evaluate the sustainability of alternative management practices. ASRU’s current focus is on exploring management practices at field to watershed scales that enhance the sustainability of limited-water cropping systems and associated natural resources, including control of wind erosion, under different soil, climate, and climate change conditions.